Cableway and method of operating the same



April 21, 1925.

T. S. MILLER CABLEWAY AND METHOD OF OPERATING THE SAME Filed April 6,1921 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 l gif; 4f

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April 21,'1925;

T. s. MILLERv CABLEWAY AND METHOD OF OPERATING THE SAME y Filed April e,1921 s sheets-sheet 2 Q m A M @/M/Oa/ MVL/NV EN TOR.

B /QWM/ i@ UM ATTORNEYS Apll 21, 1925.

' T. S. MILLER CABLEWAY AND METHOD OF OPERATING THE SAME Filed April e,1 921 s shuts-Sheet 5 ff y --L--f- R %M g, INVENTO' a resident ofSouth"'ange, in

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THOMAS SPENCER MILLER, OFSOUTH DRNGE, NEVJ JERSEY.

CABLEWAY AND METHOD 'OF OPE-RATENG THE SAME.

Application filed April 6, 1921. dSerial. No. 459,071.

To aZZ cio/tom t may concern.:

Be it known that L'Ti-ioiiiis SPENCER MILLER, a citizen of the .UnitedStates, and the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have inventedcertain newiand useful Improvements in Cableways and Methods ofOperating the Same, of which the following is a specification. y

My invention more particularly relates to a method of and apparatus foroperating the main supporting cable of a. cableway,

Y though it will be obvious that my invention may be applied to theoperation of anyloadsupporting cable. Y i Y My invention will best beunderstood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which I haveillustrated one embodiment of my invention, and in which Figure 1 is adiagrammatic view illustrating a cableway embodying my invention; Fig. 2is a side view Vof the load-carrier; Fig. 3 is an end view thereof,showing' the cables in section; Fig. 4f is a plan view of a cabletake-up Y engine made in accordaiicewith my invention; Fig. 5 is a sideview of the engine shown in Fig. 1l; Fig. G is an end view thereof, andF ig. 7 is a sectionalfview showing the valve-casing forfthe cabletake-up engine and the parts associated therewith, he cylinders for theengine being shown in elevation.

vLike reference characters indicate lilie partstliroughout the drawings.

Referring, now, to the drawings, 10 is a load-supporting cable or cablessuspended between a main tower or support 11 and a tail tower or support12, the load-carrier, which l have indicated, in general at B, 'ieingadapted to traverse the main cable. In accordance with my invention,means are provided for varying the elevation of this cable between thesupports from vwhich. it is suspended, so thatfby raisingvand loweringthe cable the elevation of the load-carrier may be adjusted to cause thesame to approach or rest on the ground or other surface, and byelevation of the main cable, be lifted', foi" transportation clear oftheV vground or other obstructions. Various means may be employed for.varying `the elevation of the main supporting cable, but a preferablemeans consists in attaching one end of the 'main cable to the tail towerorv support, as at 18, and passing the other end of the cable over aslieave 14 attached to the main tower and winding the end of the cableonto a drum 15 operated by the main cable taire-up engine, which l haveindicated, in general, at A. rlflie load-carrier may be and preferablyis moved in one direction by an inhaul cable 16, one end of which isattached, by the branches 16n and 16", to the load-carrier, as indicatedin Figs. 1 and-2, the opposite end passing over a sheave 17 secured tothe 11 and wound upon a drum 18 of a digging engine, which l haveindicated, in general, at C. The load-carrieris moved in the oppositedirection by an outhaul cable 19, one end of whichu is attachedA to theload-carrier, as indicated, in a general way, in F 1, the outhaul cablepassing over a sheave 2O attached to the tail tower 12 and a sheave 21secured to the head tower 11, the end of the cable being wound upon adrum 22 of the engine C.

I have illustrated, in Figs. 2 and 3, the preferred forni ofload-carrier, comprising, in the form here shown, a carriage B providedwith a frame, preferably including two verticalspacedplates 23 providedat their edges with ibbed strengthening flanges 24. The frame ispreferably formed substantially triangular' in shape, asindicated, andat the upper angles of the frame are preferably provided auxiliarT7supporting frames comprising spaced plates 25 pivoted to the main plates23, as at 26, and carrying the running wheels 2i', which are preferablyarranged in tandem, as shown. When two main supporting cables 1() areprovided, as illustrated in the drawings,

`then therunning wheels 27 are provided with two grooves 28 engaging therespective 9 cables 10, the running wheels being iournalled on pinsmounted in the plates 25, as at'29. Suitable retaining rollers 2? arealso preferably provided immediately beneath the wheels 27 and havingtheir bearings in the plates 25,*as shown,'for the purpose of retainingthe ruiming wheels in engagement with the main cables. Support-- ingmeans forv supporting V,the load-carrier proper, or bucliet B2', fromthe carriage prefei'ably comprises bars" SO secured at their upper ends,as at a, to the'plates23, and, outwardly and downwardly inclined, asindicated in Fig. 3, the lower ends-of the bars 30 being spaced apart bya strut 31, the ends ioo or' .vhiohnre turned downwardly, sat 32, so :isto engnffethe downwardly-turnedends 33 of the bars 30, es best' shown inFig. 3, the ends 3Q and being secured together in any desiredimanner.,Tothev lower. ends` Y of the 'flanges 32 and 33 are Connected chains 34for supporting-jv the` front end of; the.- bueket, the chains preferablybeing shackled to the lower ends of thebars; esfat 3.5;. The

l0 lower ends of the chains are, in turn, conneotechl es by shzrellles36, tothe uppery endsof. supporting bers. or arms 3T, which are pivoted,.as at: 38,. to-:the Jfront end'l of the bucket-('only oneofthebzrrs 3?being'fshowm l? in Fig; Therearendlof'ithebucket. B2"

lispreerably supported-by nienns ofncliai1r 39, they upper end: of whichis nttaehedu` to'nl e difl'erential drum. lOlhaWing `its bearings at' elin thespe-eed plates 23, .the drum having ioetno Windingpoitions;'011e`Vportion 40h-fori 4seid ehain leading to tl'ief'buolet" `and the' Yother Ll()by forf'the outhzrnl eeblefA Tliepor-- tion llO is providedwith# flanges-42, preferably-spaced epart'gust suoientlyto iecommodeitethe elle-in 39, so that Whenithel chain is: Woundfnpon itsfportionv ofthe? drunnit will essu-xnee1spii'nl fori (flor e purpose'wl'nehfillpresently be explained) 5,

als indicatednrdottedrlinesin Fig; 2. TheV Sfllowen endfoflthe Chefin isetteohedf totheouthaul cable 19.; iswoundznponi the portion'` rear endofthebueketg pre-'terribly by `men-ns of a Vbrrielet .48, .which is:preferably 'seenredJ to the'. bucket .ati the lowermost rear portion:`In froeordneewith myrginyention; thev` 401?.- o. the' drum; 120,: whichportion'. is" pre-- erebly proyided With f. e spiral'. groove 545 lof..

veryingidiemeterg. asaindioated in'lig. 3;# on

which .the end of; theaoutheul err-ble is Wounrh.

lo they-outhaul Cable preferably engnging sube in- Figw 2;

stent-izully fthe entire groove9 soA Vthnt. itlenves the-:pnlley etthat: portion of tlie groove o'f greatest diemeter; when the bueketrfisv in its lowered position; esfinniouted ini iull lines- V itthisr'timegthe supporting cha-hr3?) engageswthe periphery; of thedrum onwhich it is Wounch4 WhichI is :of wir lesser diameter"thanl theportionflOl, so thnt'the eliagiii--leeyes-fgtliep druml ety si point.the-mime 1.1" f mum distance f from i the. axis zthereo. T-lhefx buoletmayfbexluinpedzin;anyzdesired inem l ner; byfgholdin@n .the-,finhanlCable'. anch' increasing the tension on the. outhiruli cable; At? thistime,V since-the :outhaul Gebl e. leaves the- .inexilnnnrdistenee from;thex center thereof, andi-since` thesupportingehein for the rear end fof the y bueletA engagesfits` pulley at-mV point the minimum disteneeren ifrointhe axis-thereof, there -WiiLbee mexiin treated mum leverage.and a minimum i of foreefwill be .requiredtolle-applied-to the inhenl.eeble in order toreise the rear. end o'f the'. bue-het andthue dump,the-saine. Lheve illuss .an openeended( bnoltetjxB?, A Whieli. isv

provided on its front end with diggngr teeth- 46 v0'1":knownconstruction. On the other hund, whenthe rear end or the bucket isto be lowerech the chain 39 leaves il' i "1 portion at @point furtherfrom the e) s than when the end of the bunk-:1t is being' .elevetech`While` thef-outlutul cable 19 leurre its drum portion 40 nt e pointneurer the exislso. thatthere is a maximum leverage for returning thebueliet to normal iositlon. lVit-h the described urrungement,` the chain39 iis utilized for vboth supporting und "du rrp ingithexbuelret L Willnow describe tl'iefnoyel` form oi engine. foropere-.ting-in noeordnneewith my invention,y the mein 'load-supporting crible. Thetake-up engine(eee Figs. e; 5, 6 endl), wliielroperutes: the main supporeing` cableand Which is here shown s e'eon'iponndgeared"stennr'engine, is supportedon e mui-n 'frame el? andisprovidedlwith' steumeylinders'll of usualform. The pistons (not shown) ofthe 'cylinders 18' ure joined byconnections 4:9 of known and usuel form,` and indicated in Fig. byVdotted lines, to cinnhepinsv()nionnted on discs 5l secured toa. shaft 52having its beziringlje'in the 1frame oiithe engine. A pinion 53 isseenred on the shni'tf nnd* engages n' rear 34;

curedI to e sh'nt'm to theopposite end ol f- Whiehfis 5 attached lpinion 5G engaging u l geen' 57, Whielrinaybelmonnted onlthe shaftWithinithe opening 61, While the Valve-hemd 64 isrittedfwithin fr sleeve'66,: Aalso mounted inasafid opening.. Theend oll the mlm-steinrisipreerehly 'provided with zu Cylindrical members 67,. Whiohie'otsf estop; The.

G85 69 fand 70 ormedzin theesleeve 65,1 While the-vaivehezrdGloooperatesu'ith ports '7l and;72.formed'inthesleeye 66; The port 69'in` the slee-ve 651 communicates with n.

1. mesteam rnumbei n), to which steam is normellyfsupplied by zi pipe74: connected to thesteam-supply pipe- 75 through ny reducingyelye 76,so. theft stenen is always edmittedlo the chamber. '73 Aat n redueedpressuregsay 50 pounds. The port GS @our inimicetes.-with passages??which lead to thesteam oylind-rs'llS, `While thefports 70 communicateswith passages 78 which exvyetlyeheels :62 and l 6B cooperate" with portey and is as follows:

haust the steamfrom the cylinders 48. The

' steam-supply pipe 75 communicates directly p with a chamber 79 formedin the valve-casing, and the port 7l is connected by a pipe S to thepipe 'T/l. Chambers 81 and 82 are also provided in the valve-casing,which conin'iunicate with each other and with the atmosphere byconnections (not shown).

The operation oi the described cableway embodying my invention willreadily be understood trom the foregoing description, When the buclretis loaded a d it is desired to elevate the main cable, thefoperatormoves the valve-stein S upwardly, as viewed in Fig. 7. ln this ligure,the valve-stem is shown in such a positionthat all ports are blanked.The operator raises the valve-stem until the valve- Vhead 6d: isv raisedabove Vthe port opening 7l so: that the valve-chamber 79 communicateswith the ports 7l and the pipe S0, and steam is supplied at the pressurein the main supply pipe. say 150 pounds, to the chamber' 73. lilith thevalve-stem in the position assumed, the chamber coinnninicates with thepassages 77, so that steam at 150 pounds pressure is admitted to thesteam cylinders. )ui-ing the operation of elevating the cable, thetension on the cable of the character commonly tound in practice may be,'for example, 80,000 pounds. The operator permits the engine to rununtil it is stalled, at which time the tension in the line may be, say,100,000 pounds. It will, ot' course, be understood that the powerapplied by the engine must be sulticient not only to raise tieV loadedcable but to overcome the friction of the engine and associated parts.New, when the cable is raised, less power is required in the engine tosustain the cable, siue the friction of the engineyis acting with thepower applied to prevent the cable 'from being released. ln other words,any downward movement of the cable must overcome the friction ot' theengine and the steam power applied. 'It is undesirable to maintain thefull steam pressure on the en- ;rine at'ter the cable Vis raised, sinceany increase in tension in the' line, such' as would result from theload being transferred from a point near one ot the towers to the middleel the cable, or from the towers beingmoved along diverging tracks,might result in overturning the towers or in breaking the cable,

.inasmuch as the cable must 'overcome the 'friction of the enoine inaddition to overcoming the steam pressure applied. The

tension necessary to overhaul engine A and payout the Vcable would begreatly in excess of that required to raise the cable, and under theconditions assumed, might be as high as 300,000 pounds. In accordancewith my invention, therefore, the steam pressure is reduced after thecable has been raised, in order that the steam pressure,`togetherwiththe friction, and other internal resistances, may maintainsubstantially the maximum tension that existed w ien raising the cable.W ien the line has been raised, therefore, the operator moves his leversuch a direction as to move the stem 58 downwardly, as viewed in Fig. 7,to a position somewhat above that shown in the di"awingsy but to aposition where the valvehead 6e blanks the port 7l, so that steam Jfromthe mainsupjly pipe, and at full pressure, is not admitted through thelower iart of the valve-chamber. but steam under reduced pressure, saypounds, is admitted from the supirilypipe 75, through the reducing valve76 and the pipe 74:, to the steam chamber TS, and through the ports C9and GS to the passages 77, and thence to the cylinders. ltthe linetension, such as might result :trom a movement of the load from a pointnear one ot the towers to the middle ot the (able, or from aV separationof the towers in the manner above indicated,

e.\:ceeds,rsay, 105,000 pounds, then the engine will be automaticallyoverhauled and no injury would result to the system. ln order to lowerthe cable, as, for example, to a position where a digging operation isto be performed, the operator lowers the valvestem, viewed in Fig. 7, toreduce the port opening (S53 and thus admit less and less steam to thecylinders d8, and the tension on the line is thus `gradually reduced andthe bucket permitted to descend to the digging position. Under someconditions, as, for example, when the bucket is to be manipulated, itmay be desirable further to slacken the cable, and this may reversingthe engine. rlhie is done by lowering the valve-stem 58 until the stop67 on the end thereof engages the wall at the bottom of the chamber 6l.Steam under rcduced pressure then is admitted to the chamber 73, and,through the ports G9 and 70, to the passages 78 and to the steamcylinders, thence to th passages 77, through the ports 68, and to theexhaust chamber 8l.

ll/That l claim and desire tosecure by Letters Patent ot the UnitedStates is:

l. The method oi" operating` by a steam enfrine a load-supporting cablesuspended from spaced supports, vhich consists in admitting to theengine steam pressure sutcient to overcome the friction of the cngineand raise the cable, and then reducing the steam pressure to sustain thecable by engine friction and reduced steam pressure.

2, The method ot operating by a steam engine a load-supporting cablesuspended from spaced supports, which consists in admitting to theengine steam pressure sufficient to overcome the friction of the engineand raise the cable, then reducing the steam pressure suliiciently tomaintain in the cable substantially the sametension,

be accomplished byv r-.l'liereby when the cable stress is materiallyincreased he engine will be overhenied and relieved from overstresses.

8. The method of operating by a steanr #engine a load-supporting cablesuspended from spaced supports, which consists in :Ldmitting to theengine steam under pressure suicien; to overcome the friction or' theengine and reise the cabie to e predetermined cable stressginen reducingdie steam pressure siifiicientiy io maintain in the cable subsentieiiythe seme csoie sress7 whereby the cai-bie may yield and'be pei-.d on toany extent necessary Whenever the czrbie "is siigghtiy increased. y Y

1i. The method oil `operating by e steam engine Ve load-supporting cablesuspended from spaced snppors? erliicii'consists in edmitting' to theengine steam pressure suf# icient to oif'ercom'e the friction o theengine end reise the eevbie, reducii ne steam pressure to snsein thecribie and further reducing the steam pressure to lower the cable. v

5. The method of operating by e steam engine e vleed-supporting cablesuspended m tiri; to engine seaim pressure sn'- iicient to overcome thefrieivion of the encine and reise the cable, und reducing the steampressure and utiiizing the 'friction of the engine io sustain the loadedcable.

'7. The method oi ojicre'ting by a steam engine e iced-supporting csblesuspended J iom simced sngperts, which consists in V:1d-

ittiii i the enginestcem pressure suf Y no, o ,clem overcome thefriction oi the enun suiiiciently to permit che engine to cable Jeen. n.

rrioinis SPENCER im" f ne and reiee die cebie, end reducing theloveriisuiied on e substantiel increase iir

